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indicated in the discussions section of the current study, Chapter 4, Section 4.2, the standards developed in teacher education programs have a correlation with the
practical experience of student teachers in field practicum.
2.2 Field Practicum
Field practicum is a part of university coursework in teacher preparation programs in which student teachers are given the experience to observe teaching
practice, to be familiar with teaching contexts, and to be guided in teaching Richards, 1990, p. 14; Gebhard, 2009, p. 250. Field practicum, which is the
natural setting of the current study, encompasses two broad concepts: field practicum as part of teacher training programs and field practicum as professional
development Gebhard, 2009, p. 250. The first concept typically refers to the view that field practicum is a component in teacher preparation programs
Richards, 1990, p. 14; Richards, Farrell, 2005, p. 3-4. The second concept generally regards by what means student teachers build professional development
and student teachers‟ reflection on teaching Richards, Farrell, 2005, p. 3-4.
The concepts addressed in this section build theoretical background the current study is within.
2.2.1 Field practicum as part of teacher preparation programs.
Field practicum has been widely recognized as an important aspect in teacher training institutes, including but not limited to ESLEFL education
Stoynoff, 1999, Farrel, 2007 in Gan, 2013, p. 2; Gebhard, 2009, p. 250. Field practicum is a component in teacher preparation programs which facilitate student
teachers to experience the complexity of teaching practices Tuli File, 2009, p. 113-14. In addition, field experience, as pointed out by Richards Crookes
1988, provide opportunities for student teachers to 1 experience teaching in a classroom setting, 2 integrate theories into practice, 3 observe mentor teachers,
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4 gain diverse opinions on teaching techniques, 5 improve self-awareness of personal teaching style, 6 develop skills in planning a lesson, 7 improve ability
in selecting, evaluating and adapting materials, and 8 acquaint with particular existing techniques and methods Richards Crookes, 1988, p.11.
The theoretical frameworks of ESLEFL field experience are partly credited to contributions of a research conducted by Stoynoff 1999 in Gan, 2013
in which he outlined the principles in conducting TESOL practicum; the principles as summarized by Gan 2013 are as follows: 1 The practicum is a
part of an academic program; 2 The practicum involves a team work consisting mentor teachers, university supervising teachers, language program managers and
student teachers; 3 The practicum offers rigorous modeling and coaching; 4 The practicum encompasses extensive, systematic observation; and 5 The
practicum experience is evaluated using a portfolio Stoynoff, 1999 in Gan, 2013, p. 93.
2.2.2 Field practicum as professional development.
Not only is field practicum built as an engine in teaching preparation programs, but it is also motorized to facilitate student teachers to build their
professional expertise. With regard to this, student teachers begin the practicum by observing the teaching practice of mentor teachers Wallace, 1991, p. 123.
This suggests that observation over mentor teachers‟ teaching practice is a means for pre-service teachers to
comprehend “what experienced teachers do and the p
rofessional discourses they use” in order to develop professional development Gebhard, 2009, p. 252.
Historically, field experience was geared to encourage teachers to “isolate, practice, and master specific behavior” Gebhard, 2009, p. 251 However, the
focus has been shifted to an attempt to improve teacher development since more than two decades ago Gebhard, 2009, p. 251. Hence, it is now likely to find the
perception of teacher development progresses into reflecting upon beliefs and
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theories incorporated in the practice done by teachers loc cit. It is further indicated in Chapter 4, Section 4.4.1 that the present day paradigm of field
practicum helps student teachers to develop their professional development. It is recognized that the notion of professional development, which is a
widely-discussed topic in pre-service teacher education, generally is the building block to achieve numerous major goals. The goals, as Pennington 1990 puts
forward, are as follows: 1 knowledge addressing theoretical foundation of language learning and classroom research, 2 knowledge of self and students, 3
attitudes of flexibility and openness to change, 4 decision-making skills and communication skills, 5 analytical skills for judging different teaching situations,
6 awareness of alternative teaching approaches, 7 confidence and skills to change teaching approach, and 8 practical experiences using different
approaches Pennington, 1990, p. 150. In regard to the present study, the concept of professional development is among the bases used to build critical
interpretation of the data gathered in the present study which is closely related to the significance of the study, as discussed in Chapter 1, Section 1.5.
It is worth pointing out that the concept of professional development is closely tied with the concept on reflective teaching. The relationship between
these two concepts is that reflective teaching is a process in building professional development Ferraro, 2000, http:searcheric.orgdigestsed449120.html; Crookes,
2003, p. 180; AMEP, 2006, p. 1. That is to say, reflective teaching is a means for pre-service teachers, alongside in-service teachers, to build professional
development. The concept of reflective teaching refers to the practice of teachers to “reflect on aspects of their practice in order to understand it better and then to
try out improvements” AMEP, 2006, p. 1; see also Cruikshank Applegate,
1981; Barlett, 1990; in Crookes, 2003, p. 181. With regard to field practicum, it has been indicated by Ferraro 2000 that there are two frequent aspect of
reflective teaching in the practicum: 1 coaching or mentoring and 2 peer involvement Ferraro, 2000, http:searcheric.orgdigestsed449120.html. The
former refers to a means used by teacher educators in teacher preparation
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programs in helping pre- service teachers to “reflect upon and improve their
practices” Ferraro, 2000, http:searcheric.orgdigestsed449120.html. The latter refers to a means of building student teachers‟ professional development by
discussing teaching practices with other pre-service teachers Ferraro, 2000, http:searcheric.orgdigestsed449120.html; cf. Crookes, 2003, p. 183. As will be
indicated in Chapter 4, Section 4.3.3, pre-service teachers used the second aspect of reflective teaching that is peer involvement by means of discussing the causes
of the challenges they faced in the practicum to further devise a solutions to the challenges.
2.3 Pre- service Teachers’ Challenges in Field Practicum